Argentina vs Iraq Predictions

After a disappointing World Cup in the summer, it has been all change for the Argentinian national team. Jorge Sampaoli left his role as manager after Argentina crashed out of the second-round to France, following an underwhelming group-stage performance, which saw them draw with Iceland, lose badly to Croatia, and scrape past Nigeria.

Former West Ham and international Lionel Scaloni has taken over as interim coach, assisted by fellow former Argentinian internationals Pablo Aimar and Walter Samuel. Moreover, it seems a generation of Argentinian players have departed from the set-up, from defenders like Marcos Rojo, to the attacking forces of Angel Di Maria, Ever Banega, Gonzalo Higuaín, Sergio Aguero, and most crucially, Lionel Messi.

It has meant there is an unfamiliar feel to this Argentinian squad. In their two matches after the World Cup, Argentina duly defeated Guatemala 3-0, with goals from newcomers Lautaro Martinez, Giovanni Simeone, and Giovani Lo Celso. There was some good passages of play from Argentina and all in all, a decent debut for Scaloni.

His second match in charge was against Colombia away from home, which finished as a goalless draw. It was a scrappy affair which didn’t do testament to both sides’ attacking strengths. There was little in the way of excitement, with both teams in transition but at the very least, Scaloni remains unbeaten in charge of the national team.

Ranked 89th in the world, Iraq have had a decent 2018 in terms of results. They have lost twice in eight games, one being their first match of the year, losing on penalties to the UAE in the Gulf Cup of Nations after a goalless draw. The second was to Qatar, in a 3-2 home defeat in March.

Apart from that, Iraq have looked a solid outfit, thrashing a Saudi Arabian team 4-1 that went to the World Cup in the summer, as well as a 3-0 away win at Palestine. Further draws against Syria, Palestine, and Kuwait have followed and added to the belief that this side has potential.

With the inner turmoil of the country lessening, Iraq can start to rebuild and improve themselves. They are hosting the 2018 WAFF Championships, which involves West Asian countries, whilst have gone from 119th in the 2016 FIFA world rankings to 89th today. In addition, players have started to break into Europe’s top leagues, such as defender Ali Adnan, who is with Italian side Atalanta. For Iraq, it is all about maintaining these positive developments and using them to better the football infrastructure of the county.

This match will continue that progress with the prestige of playing one of the best national teams, historically and currently, in the world. However, despite Argentina being in transition, they have little hope of getting anything from this game. Although, it may not be the mauling that many predict, as Iraq will be stubborn in defence and Argentina are missing crucial parts of their attacking play. Thus, betting Argentina to Win to Nil is more likely than it being a 5-0 or 6-0 match, with a 3-0 correct-score looking more probably as Argentina continue to work out their best squad.